So does that mean that college is out of the picture? Hardly. So what if you goofed off: plenty of people who just couldn’t bother in high school become motivated later in life. But if you don’t start challenging yourself, you could turn your youthful blasé into a lifetime of underachievement. So what’s a B- student with an A+ mind to do? Check out these top colleges for underachievers:

Hampshire College

Freshman Profile:

• SAT Math: (Low) 540 (High) 660
• SAT Verbal: (Low) 590 (High) 700
• Top 25% of Class: 58%
• Percent Admitted: 51-59%

What Makes It Unique: Hampshire College does away with traditional majors, and traditional admissions. Students work with faculty members to design their own programs based around their individual passions and interests, culminating in an independent project based on their original work their final year.

You’re a Good Fit If… you have all-A’s in your favorite subject, but you let the rest slide, this is the school for you. Independent workers who have a real passion-whether its art, social justice, science, or writing will find Hampshire a perfect fit.

St. John’s College

Freshman Profile:

• SAT Math: (Low) 580 (High) 680
• SAT Verbal: (Low) 650 (High) 760
• Top 25% of Class: 63%
• Percent Admitted: 77-85%

What Makes It Unique: St John’s College, located in both Annapolis, MD and Sante Fe, NM follow what is called a “great book” curriculum. Instead of requiring students to take Calc 101, Intro to Psych, and English Comp, St. John’s bases its curriculum around reading and discussing “the most important” books in the Western tradition. Expect Chaucer, Freud, Einstein, and Plato to come up a lot.

You’re a Good Fit If…  you’re that kid who’s always reading for fun when you should be paying attention in class, this could be a great school for you. It’s a tiny campus, only 500 students, and you get a lot of individual attention. So if you enjoy the idea of reading non-stop for the next few years, then St. John’s may be for you.

UMass Amherst:

Freshman Profile:

• SAT Math: (Low) 520 (High) 630
• SAT Verbal: (Low) 510 (High) 610
• Top 25% of Class: 58%
• Percent Admitted: 62-70%

What Makes It Unique: UMass Amherst takes part in the 5 college consortium along with Amherst College, Hampshire College, Mount Holyoke, and Smith College. At state-college tuition (and admission) rates, you can take liberal-arts classes at some of the top private liberal arts colleges in the country. Students can also take part in extracurricular activities at other campuses, and can even eat their meals on other campuses.

You’re a Good Fit If…  you’re a curious student who wants to try a bit of everything in the liberal-arts. If you thrive in a large and diverse environment, or have a hankering for a liberal-arts college without the high price tag, this is a great choice.

Anyone have any ideas for other good colleges? Let us know in the comments below!

Write Your Own Recommendation: When it comes to getting a letter of recommendation from your teachers, it can be all-too tempting to take a passive role. You want to show your respect for them, so you just meekly ask for them to write you a recommendation, and pray for the best.

Well don’t. You’re not doing your teachers, or yourself, any favors by leaving it up to them. Be open about the kind of recommendation you are looking for, and the kind of programs you are interested in. If you are planning on being an English major, ask your English teacher to talk about your writing. Point to some essays you did particularly well on. If you want to go pre-med, ask your A.P. bio teacher to talk about how excited you are about research.

Be polite, but firm. If you let your teachers know what kind of a recommendation you are looking for, it will help them know if they are the right person to write it for you. And if they ultimately decide that they can’t give you what you are looking for, at least you know now, instead of after you’ve mailed in your application.

Think like a teacher. If you were in their shoes, what would you want to know? Mention your accomplishments, goals, and setbacks. Also, everybody likes to be flattered. Let them know why they are the best person to write your recommendation. Was it because their class was your favorite? Or did you write one of your best papers for them? Let them know that not only are you a unique student, but that they are the teacher that can uniquely advocate for you. How could they say no?

You might also be interested in:

College Application Tips You Don’t Expect Part 1:
Be Yourself, Only Better

College Application Tips You Don’t Expect Part 2:
Forget your Admissions Essay

Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace have often gotten a bad rap from educators as time-wasters. In April 2009 alone, Nielson Online estimated that teens spent 21 million minutes on sites like Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter-the equivalent of 40 years’ time! However, not all of this time is “wasted”. Social media tools have many valuable uses, from tracking breaking news to connecting with support groups. And given that college is one of teens’ top concerns, it should come as no surprise that social media is also changing the way that teens conduct their college search.

Students using social media for the college search.

Students are using social media sites to read peer reviews of college campuses, chat about college admissions questions with fellow applicants and experts alike, and get an inside peek into college life. This trend in social media is so popular that not only applicants, but college admissions departments are hopping on the bandwagon. A recent study by the National Association for College Admissions Counselors (NACAC) reports that over half of colleges use social media in the admissions and recruitment process.

Admissions Officers do it, too.

With admissions officers using social media to inform prospective students (and seek out the dirt on applicants), social media use is no longer just-for-teens. Ready to meet teens where they hang out online, colleges are building their own social-media presence. Students now have the opportunity to search colleges’ blogs, videos, and even their Twitter feed. Even so, doing all this online research one school at a time is a daunting prospect.

That’s why sites like social media mash-ups for college are gaining popularity. These sites combine student reviews, videos, and blogs into a single page, providing a much-needed window into a college’s presence on the web. CampusCompare is harnessing the power of social media with the College Current—a feature that shows multi-media results for every U.S. School, including video, pictures and student reviews, plus the real-time Twitter conversation going on about that college.

Tap into the experience of millions.

The College Current provides teens with more than the quantitative stats and rankings for colleges. It aggregates the impressions of millions of real students into a single page. Teens can finally have access to a well-rounded picture of their dream school from a variety of sources and tap into the collective wisdom in a way not possible through college visits or static guidebooks.

As the role of social media sites continues to grow in college admissions, and teens continue to spend more and more of their time on social media websites, the question becomes not “whether” but “which” social media teens should use in their college search.

Want an example of the College Current? Check out Arizona State.

Comments? Questions? Tell us how your school is using social media in the comments below.

Quit Stressing About Your Essay: It’s easy to put all your energy into your admissions essay. By the time senior year rolls around, there’s not a lot you can do about your SAT scores or your GPA. So putting all your efforts into the one part of your application that you still have some control over is tempting. But if you’re putting off other things-like studying for your midterms and getting those recommendation letters-you’re doing yourself a disservice.

Contrary to popular opinion, college admissions departments frequently do not rate the essay as highly as they do your class rank and test scores. There are of course exceptions, especially among small liberal arts colleges like Hampshire College and Sarah Lawrence College. But for the most part, your admissions essay is a secondary part of your application. Large colleges just don’t have the time to go over every applicant’s essay with a fine tooth comb. Another reason why they tend to undervalue the admissions essay is that it is a subjective measure of a student’s capabilities. Colleges look for applicants who will do well in their college and go on to do well in the job-market. Your GPA and SAT scores are statistically-proven predictors of your future success, your essay is not. Of course there are plenty of bright students who just underachieved in high school, but unfortunately, many colleges do not want to make that gamble.

It’s hard to hear, but if you’re praying for a brilliant essay to rescue you from rejection, you may be out of luck. An admissions essay is not going to resurrect your application if everything is sub-par. It’s important to try and write a good coherent essay, but putting all your energy into crafting a “brilliant essay” will not save you. You may even unintentionally detract from other parts of your application by focusing too much on the essay. Do your best, get someone else to proofread it and make comments, and write a second draft. Beyond that, and you could just be wasting your time.

You’ve probably heard advice like: be yourself, write a killer essay, and get a nice letter of recommendation. Well guess what? What you’ve already heard just isn’t going to cut it. So we’re starting a series on some unconventional college application wisdom. This week, we tackle the fine balance between staying true to yourself and shooting yourself in the foot.

Be yourself, only better: People are always saying “be yourself.” This is nice Sunday-school advice, and while I’m all for students, and people in general, staying true to themselves, perhaps college admissions is not the best time to let your inner-freak flag wave.

College applications are like job interviews-you want to put your best foot forward. Sometimes, college applications like to ask questions like “What sorts of challenges have you overcome?” or “What is your biggest personal obstacle?” Now is not the time to respond with “Stop playing World of Warcraft 24/7.” College admissions officers look for motivated, interesting, ambitious students. So make whoever you are, whether that’s a video-game lover or an all-varsity athlete, look like just like that.

Now don’t get all “colleges should love us for who we are” on me. The truth is, college admissions is a competition. You need to look better than the applicant next to you in order to get admitted. This doesn’t mean that you should lie, cheat, or steal. But this does mean that you should present yourself, and whatever inevitable flaws you have, in the best light on your college applications. You’re not a couch potato; you’re a “calming influence” to everyone around you. Now pass that remote.

Use the comments section to tell us how you positioned a potential flaw as a strength, or if you prefer to just let it all out.

The real problem with this wildly popular college admissions assumption is that it relies on generalities. Sure, some small colleges offer exactly that. But not all do, and that doesn’t mean that a large college can’t offer the same thing.

The truth is, every school is unique, and every individual will have a unique experience at each school. Students that are naturally joiners and outgoing will find plenty of clubs and activities wherever they go, and will make their own tight knit community whether they attend a school of 300 or 30,000. Likewise, if you’re a real bookworm and love talking to your profs about the material, you won’t have any problem getting attention. And if you’re super shy, even the smallest dorm might feel overwhelming.

Ultimately, it really is all about what you make of it. When searching for your best-fit college, don’t rule out any campus because of its size until you talk to students who actually go there, visit the campus, or read some student reviews. You just might find that the Goliath campus has a heart of gold.

A long car trip with your parents and your younger brother, Phil. Your Mom likes to sing along to the radio, and Phil likes to pelt you with M&M’s. By the time you get to the college campus, you’ll be rainbow colored. Whoever said M&M’s don’t melt in your hand clearly have never visited colleges with Phil. After the campus tour, you get back in the car and move onto the next college. It’s going to be a long ride.

Option B:

Surf the web from the comfort of your chair. This time, YOU will be eating the M&M’s while you visit colleges, online. Chat with admissions counselors, meet real students, and get virtual tours of dozens of schools. When you’re Mom comes upstairs to tell you to do the dishes, you can say: “Hold on, I’m visiting Harvard.” Best. Excuse. Ever.

As the example above clearly illustrates, there are obvious benefits to online college tours. Not only do they give you the freedom to see what college is really like sans parents, but they are also totally free. No more wasting money on Motel 6, thank-you-very-much. For those students who are worried about how they are going to pay for college, let alone simply visit, online college tours can open the door to school’s out of state they never would have been able to consider.

Online college tours are the latest trend in college search, and there are a number of great websites to choose from. So go to a few, see what each one has to offer, and remember: don’t leave your seat.

CollegeWeekLive: A free online event held a few times a year. Better than a school college fair, it combines expert advice with chances to talk to real college students and admissions representatives. The next session is November 4-7th, and you can register here.

theU: With over one-hundred thousand user created videos and reviews, you’ll get an insider’s viewpoint of college life at thousands of colleges across the country. It’s like staying overnight at your best friend’s sister’s college dorm.

eCampusTours: Free video tours of campuses from a more “official perspective”. Kind of like the campus tour you’d go on with your parents, only without the obvious annoyances. It’s free, but you do need to register.

Yes. Although some schools, like Amherst College, do boast such impressive statistics, many others, like Johns Hopkins University make a concerted effort to admit a similar proportion of students early as they do regular.

You also have to think of not only the acceptance rates, but the overall quality of the pool of applicants applying. Students who apply early decision or early action tend to be more motivated, have higher grades, and in general, are more likely to meet the school’s admissions criteria to begin with. This is because a student will have to do a lot more college planning and work on their college search to apply early. They also can’t count on any senior-year bird courses to boost their grades, as colleges won’t get to see their senior year transcript. So, the differences in college acceptance rates for early vs. regular applications can partly be explained by the differences in the quality of the application pool.
So don’t put all of your eggs in one basket yet. If you think you’d benefit from a little comparison shopping, or need an extra month on your college applications, nix applying early.

1. Forget your own name. The mother of all F’ups, if you don’t put the right name on the application, they can’t admit you!
2. Attach a “Benjamin”. Repeat after me: I will not bribe the admissions office. I will not bribe…
3. Misspell Wrds. You’ll read real good one day. But seriously, spell everything correctly, and use complete sentences. Otherwise, you look like a moron.
4. Mail it in late. Double check the deadline, and don’t forget to check to see if that date is when it needs to be RECIEVED by, or just postmarked. If it needs to be received by a certain date, make sure to mail it at least a week in advance.
5. Improper postage. The good old United States Postal service is fraught with potential application snafus. One wrong stamp, and your app good be stamped REJECTED.
6. Forget to send in your transcripts. Make sure to notify your guidance counselor of the schools you will be applying to, and go through the proper procedure for getting your high school to send your transcripts directly to the colleges.
7. Ask the wrong teacher for a recommendation. It goes without saying: ask teachers that you know like you for a rec. That bio teacher you thought found your snores secretly charming? Not a good candidate.
8. Print illegibly. If they can’t read it, they can’t really evaluate it. If you can, type your applications. The easier you make it on the admissions department, the better your chances.
9. Dot your “i”s with smiley faces. You dweeb.
10. Send in the wrong application. I’m sure Harvard REALLY wants to read all about how Yale is your dream school.

Any other way’s you’ve heard of? Leave ‘em in the comments, not your apps!